


Young Love

by as_with_a_sunbeam



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fluff, baby hamliza, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-05-27 16:16:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15028406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/as_with_a_sunbeam/pseuds/as_with_a_sunbeam
Summary: Eliza Schuyler meets a lonely little boy in a dinosaur shirt on the first day of first grade. Her life will never be the same.Very fluffy modern school AU





	1. Chocolate Milk and Dinosaurs, First Grade

* * *

The elementary school cafeteria was a din of high, childish voices, cutlery hitting plastic trays, and paper bags rustling on tables. Eliza dug through the milk options with purpose until she found the coveted brown carton containing chocolate milk. She handed the lunch lady her dime with a bright smile and skipped back to the lunch table where she’d placed her Lisa Frank lunchbox. Smoothing down her pink overalls, she sat to wait for her friends to join her.

She fussed with her pigtail as she waited, frustrated that the pink band kept sliding down her dark hair. She didn’t very much like the bands, but they were the only pink ones at the store. Not that she liked pink much either. Mama said pink made her look precious, but Eliza thought it just made her look like Angelica.

Angelica was very smart, and Peggy was very cute, and Eliza often found herself somewhere in the middle. It was hard to stand out. Next time, she’ll tell Mama she wants green, Eliza decided.

She was looking down at the rainbow unicorn on her pink lunchbox when she heard a cough behind her. Craning her head around, she saw a boy sitting by himself at the corner back table, a brown paper bag and a yucky blue milk untouched in front of him. He was hunched in on himself, like he was trying to hide. Hiding would be difficult for him with the bright orange shirt he was wearing, she thought. It had a long-necked, green dinosaur on the front.

He looked lonely.

She doesn’t really understand why, but she wanted to make him feel better. She was on her feet before she’d really thought about it. The coveted chocolate milk was clutched in her hand.

“Hi.”

He looked up at her with wary eyes. She saw his mouth twitch a little, but he didn’t smile back at her. “Hi.”

“I’m Eliza.”

“Alex.”

She repeated his name, like Mama and Papa taught her to do when she met new people. “Hi, Alex.”

“Hi,” he repeated.

She pursed her lips, searching for something to say. “I like your dinosaur.”

He looked down to examine his shirt. His face took on a thoughtful quality, as if he’d never given the dinosaur much consideration. “Me, too,” he decided.

That made her laugh. “You’re funny.”

He finally smiled a little. “I am?”

She liked his smile, she thought, as she nodded. His face fell back to neutral quicker than she wanted. Maybe he was embarrassed about his missing front tooth?

“I found a chocolate milk,” she tells him, holding the brown carton up for him to see.

He nodded a little, his gaze falling back on his own plain milk sadly.

“Do you want to trade?”

He looked back at her. “Really?”

“Mmhm,” she hummed. Mama didn’t like when she did that, and she automatically corrected herself. “Yes.”

“Thanks,” he said.

He handed his milk to her and their fingers brushed on the chocolate milk as he took it.

She looked over at her lunch table, and saw her friends had all sat down around it. “Do you want to come sit with us?”

He shook his head.

She felt a little sad. “Okay.”

She was trudging away, looking down at her pink shoes with the yucky plain milk in hand, when she heard him ask quietly, “Eliza?”

Turning back, she saw him smiling at her. A big, wide, real smile.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

His smile made her feel all warm inside. When she sat back with her friends, and she found she didn’t even really mind the plain milk.


	2. The First Kiss, Eleventh Grade

 Eliza swiped her hair back behind her ear before fumbling with the lock on her locker. The dial twisted too far past the second number. She took a breath and tried again.

“Thanks again,” Alex said, leaning against the locker to the right. “I knew there had to be a deeper meaning, but all I was getting was that Thoreau was really proud of his cabin.”

Eliza laughed, but it sounded shaky, nervous. Which was ridiculous—she’d known Alex forever; she shouldn’t be so tongue-tied. It felt different now, though, talking to him. Sitting next to him in English this year, she’d started to  notice how smart and funny he was, how a dimple appeared in his cheek when he smiled at her.

Angelica would be batting her eyelashes at him and responding with witty retorts. This is what she got for spending all of sophomore year sighing over the cute British exchange student, Eliza lectured herself. John Andre had returned to London without ever learning her name, and in the meantime she’d apparently missed some fundamental lesson in flirting with boys that all her friends seemed to have mastered.

Say something, she thought desperately. Anything.

“Yeah, it probably didn’t make much sense without Ms. Worthy’s introduction to the transcendentalists. Are you, um, feeling better?”

Yes. Perfect. Bring up the flu that kept him out of school last week. Way to flirt, Eliza, she cringed at herself. 

“I am. Thanks.”

He was smiling at her when she glanced over at him. The dimple was back. Damn that dimple.  

The lock popped open at last. Her palms felt sweaty as she dug through her binder for the notes from last week’s American Lit class. “Here,” she said, lifting the proper pages from the three ring binder. “Keep them as long as you need.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” he said with a wink as he pushed off the locker he’d been leaning against.

“You, too,” she said, over an awkward almost-giggle. She realized a moment too late that her answer made no sense; she immediately felt her cheeks grow hot, and she tried to recover. “I mean, you’re welcome.”

He nodded, already moving away down the hall.

She stuck her head in her locker and released a long, low groan of humiliation. “You, too,” she muttered under her breath. What was wrong with her? Allowing herself another moment to wallow, she slowly began to gather her math stuff.

“Hey.”

She jumped, and her graphing calculator clattered onto the beige tile floor.

“Sorry,” Alex said, stooping down to pick it up for her. “I just…I meant to ask you something before, and I kind of chickened out.”

Her fingers brushed over his hand as she took the calculator back. A pack of wild butterflies exploded to life in her stomach. “What did you want to ask me?”

“How do you feel about school dances?”

Her brow furrowed. “How do I feel about them?”

“Yeah. Most people think they’re kind of lame.”

“Do you think they’re lame?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. But I like lame things.”

She nodded, still confused.

“What I’m trying to ask is, would you consider, possibly, going to homecoming with me?” The last few words were all pushed together, his tongue tripping over the sounds as he rushed to get them out.

For some reason, his obvious nervousness helped her feel calmer. She smiled. “I would love to go to homecoming with you.”

“Really?” He sounded almost surprised. Which was adorable.

“Yeah.”

“Great. That’s…that’s great.” His face was split with a grin, but his cheeks were pink and he didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands. “I’ll see you Saturday, then. I mean, obviously I’ll see you before that, since we sit next to each other in English, but—”

“See you on Saturday,” she agreed.

The bell rang, and the masses around them began to push towards the doors of the classrooms. Alex waved as the crowd pulled him away and she waved back. Her fingertips tingled from where they’d brushed Alex’s hand, and she practically floated towards math, her cheeks aching from smiling so widely.

**

“You’re not wearing that, Angelica!” Mom commanded from the hallway over a crack of thunder from outside. It had been pouring out all afternoon.  

Peggy was the one to shout back. “But Mom, Angelica and Eliza get to go!”

Eliza applied the lipstick Angelica had let her borrow. Her hair was done, and she was already dressed. Mom had taken her shopping on Friday, and she’d known as soon as she’d walked into the store which dress she’d be buying. The blue, floor length, halter neck gown had a flowy skirt and a sophisticated lacy touch at the top. When she’d tried it on, she’d felt like an old time movie star.

“That’s too formal,” Angelica had critiqued when she emerged from the dressing room.

“It’s a formal dance,” Eliza had replied. “My first formal dance. I want to wear something classic.”

Her sister ignored her, and held up a short, strappy black dress. “Go knee length and low cut like me.”

“I’m not getting you that, Angelica,” Mom had interjected immediately. (Angelica had called her boyfriend to go back for it last night, and the fight over the black dress was still ongoing.) Mom had smiled at Eliza, though. “You look beautiful, sweetheart. I think that’s the one.”

The doorbell rang. Alex, she knew. Eliza quickly blotted her lipstick and tucked a stray hair back in place.

“Betsey!” Dad shouted from downstairs.

Mom stopped in the bathroom doorway. “You look lovely, darling.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“I still wish I knew more about this boy, though. Alex Hamilton. I’ve never even met his parents.”

“He lives with Mr. and Mrs. Stevens,” Eliza explained. “His mother passed away with he was little.” Recognition flittered across her mother’s face. Everyone in town knew Alex’s tragic backstory.

“Betsey!” Dad called again.

“She’s coming, Philip!” Mom called downstairs, rolling her eyes. She held out her arms and gave Eliza a kiss on the head. More softly, she added, “I want you home by eleven.”

“Eleven!” Angelica cried, voice high with outrage. “Then why do I need to be home at ten thirty?”

“You’re not going to be leaving the house at all unless you change your outfit,” Mom replied, returning to the fight with her sister.  

“I want to go!” Peggy whined again.

Eliza slipped downstairs. As she rounded the landing, she saw her father sitting on the couch, glowering at John Carter, who sat slouched on a chair waiting for Angelica in a leather jacket and sunglasses, despite it being both dark and raining outside. Glancing to the side, she saw Alex pacing by the front door in a light blue collared shirt, a gray sport coat that was too big for him, and a navy blue tie that looked like it was cut from the same cloth as her dress. Her lips quirked into a smile when saw he held a corsage in his hands.

“We match,” she noted.

“Wow,” he replied, stopping short in his pacing to look at her. Then his brow furrowed, and he asked, “What?”

She grinned. “Your tie. We match.”

“Oh.” He looked down at his tie, as if seeing it for the first time. A memory tugged at her, and for a brief moment she saw a six year old little boy in a dinosaur shirt. How strange, that she’d known him so long, and yet somehow hardly knew him at all. That was school, she supposed. Her circle of friends had been pretty set by the time she’d left kindergarten, and she and Alex had never had a class together until this year.

“Is that for me?” she asked, gesturing to the corsage.

“Yes.” He fumbled with the plastic container. “I didn’t know if people really did this anymore. You don’t have to wear it.”

God, he was cute.

“I love it. Thank you.”

She held out her wrist as he shoved the plastic container onto the side table. He gently tied the silk ribbon in place. Stretching her arm out to admire the white flowers, she thanked him again. He smiled crookedly at her in return.

“Drive carefully, young man. The roads will be slick,” Dad said, coming over to see them off.

“Yes, sir. I’ll get her home safe,” Alex agreed. He held his hand out, and Dad shook it firmly. Alex then grabbed for his umbrella and nodded to the door. “My lady.” She laughed and took his arm, huddled close at his side so they could rush out for the car without getting drenched.

**

The dance wasn’t quite what she’d imagined.

The gym was lit up with fairy lights and someone had wheeled in cafeteria tables to hold the punch and snacks, but it was still the gym. Music pounded so loudly she could barely hear herself think, never mind talk to Alex. And the songs were all fast with driving rhythms, so although they did dance together, she never had the chance to put her arms around his neck and sway slowly with him, the way couples always did in the movies.  

She took a long sip of her punch during a break and sighed.

“Do you want to go?” Alex asked, practically shouting to be heard.

She hesitated. She didn’t want the night to end so early, especially when Mom and Dad had extended her curfew. Staying for the next two hours until the dance ended held little appeal, though.

Alex seemed to sense her thoughts, because he offered, still shouting, “We could stop at the diner and get a milkshake?”  

A milkshake? she thought with a smile.

He laughed, like he was in on the joke with her even though she hadn’t verbalized it. “I told you, I like lame things. We’ll do it right, too. We’ll order the biggest one they have and put two straws in.”

“What kind of milkshake?” she asked, as though she were still considering it.

“Coffee, of course,” he answered, brow quirked, like he was challenging her, daring her to name another, inferior flavor.

She had no desire to argue with him. Coffee was the best flavor for a milkshake, after all. “Ok. Agreed.”

He took her hand, and they set off towards the exit.

The orange light of the parking lot reflected off the mist emanating from the damp asphalt. At least the rain had stopped for the moment, she considered, although the temperature had started to cool now that the sun had gone down. She shivered lightly, goosebumps rising on her bare arms.

Alex released her hand and shrugged off his jacket so he could drape it over her shoulders. “Better?”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

They made it to his car just as Eliza felt a rain drop hit her face. He opened the passenger side door of his old, beat up black Camry for her, then slid in to the driver’s seat. When he turned the key in the ignition, however, the car made a sad, choking sort of sound. He frowned, tried to turn it over again, then sighed. “Sorry. It does this sometimes. I’ll be right back.”

He slid out again, rolling up his sleeves as he popped open the hood. The rain pattered against the windshield while he worked. She heard something banging, then the car rocked, as though he’d kicked it.

“Can you try to turn it over?” Alex called.

“Does kicking it usually solve the problem?” she teased, reaching over to turn the key.

“Yes!” And, sure enough, the car roared to life. Now that the car was running, the radio clicked on, in the middle of an old, slow song. Eliza smiled. She turned up the volume, pushed open the passenger door and left it, so they could hear the music from outside the car.

Alex had just lowered the hood, and he frowned. “You should get back in. It’s raining.”

“We never got a slow dance.”  

A goofy looking smile overtook his face. She slid her arms up over his shoulders, still wearing his sport coat over her dress. His arms closed around her waist, and they swayed together, slowly.

Her hair and dress were soaked as the last strains of the song died away, leaving behind the voice of the radio announcer and the driving baseline still faintly audible from the school. Alex was equally drenched, his hair plastered to his face. She pulled back, and Alex looked down at her, his expression soft.

She tilted her head to the side slightly, inviting him to lean in. As he moved closer, she closed her eyes, those butterflies taking flight in her stomach again. His lips brushed against hers. They were soft, and warm, and just a little unsure.

When he pulled away, she let her eyes stay closed for another heartbeat, savoring the moment. She wanted to share it with him, wanted him to know how much it had meant to her, that soft brush of the lips he’d just bestowed. In a whisper, she confided, “That was my first kiss.”

Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw his widened. “Oh, God, I’m sorry,” he said, slightly panicked. “I should have asked. I, I thought—”

She placed her finger on his lips. “It was perfect.”

His shoulders relaxed. “Yeah?”

Nodding, she stretched up, intent on kissing him again.


	3. Tightrope, Twelfth Grade

Eliza’s palms felt sweaty as she forced herself to grab for the next metal handhold on the long wooden pole leading up and up and up towards the narrow wooden platform that marked the beginning of their outdoor gym class adventure course. She’d cinched the harness as tight as it would go around her waist. How secure was high school athletic equipment, though, really? Her sneaker slipped off the next rung, but her grasp on her other holds was firm enough that she didn’t fall. Her heart pounded madly in her chest.

Just don’t look down, she instructed herself.

“You’re doing great, Eliza,” a voice called from above her. Her eyes traveled up the seemingly endless pole to see that Alex had just mounted the platform. He was smiling down at her with those damn dimples of his, hands resting on his safety rope, looking completely at ease. “You’re almost there.”

She blew out a breath and forced a smile. Her face felt flushed, and she didn’t think it was just from the physical exertion of climbing. He was the only reason she was doing this in the first place. She’d much rather be jogging around the track right now.

But then Alex had to go and ask her to be his climbing partner. With his smile and his dimples, how was she supposed to say no to that? So here she was, climbing a pole to the rickety obstacle course, all for a boy.

A very cute boy.

His hand reached down as she pushed up from the last foothold. She took it and hoped he wouldn’t judge her for how sweaty it was as she heaved herself up on the platform beside him. He placed his hands on her hips, ostensibly to steady her, and winked. “Just double checking you’re secure.”

She smiled more genuinely. “Safety first.”

The dimple was back. Her heart was liable to burst right out of her chest.

“You ready?”

They had to walk across a tightrope to the next platform, where a tall ladder of wood and rope would take them even higher in the air. She wasn’t ready for any of this, honestly, but she nodded, even as her stomach squirmed.

“You look a little nervous,” he observed. “You want to hold my hand while we cross?”

“Yes, please.” There’s a chance she squeaked when she said this, but she decided to put the possibility from her mind until later. If she lived through this, she could find a nice, safe hole in the ground where she could spend the rest of high school, she reassured herself.

Alex hooked his harness to another carabineer, then did the same to hers.

They stepped out onto the rope.

See, she thought tightropes were meant to be, well, tight. This one…isn’t. Alex went first, and the rope rocked back with his weight. His body leaned into the motion, perfectly relaxed. She looked down at his feet, wondering how he stayed so steady.

His hand tugged her along, and she placed one sneaker on the rope behind him. The rope sunk and swung under her weight. And then she did the worst thing possible: she looked down.

And it was a long way down.

The distance between her and the ground seemed to stretch on forever. She could just make out her gym teacher’s gray hair far below them, looking up as he walked along with their safety ropes.

“No. No, no. No. No way.”

“What’s wrong?”

She was frozen in place. She refused to look up at him. How would she get down? Maybe they could just send up some snacks and music? She could just live on the platform. That could be fun, right? Kind of like a tree house.

“Eliza.” Alex’s voice was soft and calm.

“I can’t.”

“Sure you can. You can do anything.”

Normally, she’d agree whole-heartedly with that statement. This moment might not be a shining example, but she was normally fearless, game to try anything. She’d eat whatever weird food Angelica laid in front of her, dance wildly in front of strangers, ride any rollercoaster at any amusement park (provided she could close her eyes on the way to the top, of course). Just…not rickety old obstacle courses.

“I can’t,” she repeated, her gaze flickering down to the ground below again.

“Hey, don’t look at them. Look at me.”

She met his eyes.

“You can do anything,” he repeated. “I’m never gonna let you fall. Okay?”

Their eyes locked. He squeezed her hand. She took a deep breath, and nodded.

She inched out with her other foot. The rope rocked again. Her stomach fluttered like it was full of butterflies, but she swallowed down her fear, careful to keep her eyes locked on his. He smiled and whispered words of encouragement as they inched their way across.

Getting to the other side seemed to take an eternity. Finally, finally, Alex stepped onto the solid platform on the other side. Her feet touched the creaky wood panels and she nearly wept with relief.

He hugged her.

He gave the best hugs, she decided: warm and firm and safe.

“You did so good!” he praised.

“I thought I was gonna throw up,” she admitted.

“But you didn’t,” he noted, voice still sunny and upbeat.

Not yet, at least.

He took a deep breath in and said, “Now, would you look at that.”

She didn’t particularly want to look at anything except the stitching on the seams of his t-shirt where her face was currently pressed.

“That’s quite a view.”

Despite herself, she found her gaze wandering, not down, but out, over the treetops and their school and their town. Her breath caught. “Wow.”

“See, it’s not so bad when you’re up here, right?”

Nothing was so bad when she had him to steady her, she wanted to say. With his hand in her hand, she’d follow him anywhere. He was dangerous that way. Oh, the heights he’d force her to climb, and not just in gym class.

She can read the hunger in his eyes, the ambition.

It’s not a life she’d choose for herself in the abstract, but for him, she’d do anything. He was right, anyway. There was quite a view.

“Not so bad, when I’m with you,” she confirmed.

His eyes were soft and sincere, like he understood what she’d been thinking. She thought for a moment he might kiss her, then realized their entire gym class was watching. The kissing would have to wait.

But boy, was she gonna kiss him later. He smirked at her, still clearly reading her mind.

Steeling her nerves, her gaze traveled to the swinging ladder before them.

“Let’s go.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluffy hamliza sweetness inspired by "Tightrope" from The Greatest Showman popping up on my shuffle :) Hope you all enjoyed!


	4. Carnivals and Kisses, 12th Grade

Grainy carnival music blared through the loudspeaker overhead, the dizzying tune an ideal accompaniment to the gaudily lit tilt-o-whirl and Ferris wheel, which illuminated the old baseball field. The scent of damp grass vied with the smell fried food and popcorn wafting out from the next tent over. Eliza adjusted Alex’s jacket around her shoulders and inched forward to avoid a gaggle of laughing girls coming around the corner. Alex stood beside her with a large, hollow plastic ball in his hand; he was gazing at the colorful cups arranged in the tent before them with studious concentration.

“Are you gonna throw the ball, or what, kid?” the worker in the striped costume queried, his face stamped with boredom as he leaned, hunched over, against the wooden ledge.

Alex frowned at him and went back to studying the game. At last, his arm pulled back and he released the ball. It skipped over three yellow cups before dropping perfectly into the red cup at the center. The workers expression flickered from bored to impressed for a brief half-second, and he straightened up enough to ring the bell overhead.

“And we have a winner!” the worker announced, voice dripping with false enthusiasm. “You want the bear or the unicorn?”

Alex smiled at her, looking ridiculously proud of himself. “Do you have a preference?”

Eliza shrugged. “It’s your prize.”

“But it’s for you. What am I going to do with a giant stuffed animal?”

“Well, what am I gonna do with it?”

His hand waved vaguely back towards the laughing girls that had just passed by as he said, “I don’t know, girls are supposed to like these things.”

“Says who?”

“Every romantic comedy ever. Would you just pick one?”

She laughed as she sized up the options. They were both easily the size of her torso, and she hadn’t the foggiest idea where she’d put either of them. The effort he’d expended to win had been unquestionably sweet, though. “The bear,” she decided.

The worker lifted one of the shaggy, overstuffed bears from the hook at the back of the tent and handed it over.

“Here,” Alex said, trying to transfer it to her.

“Oh, no,” she refused, even as she gave the bear's soft arm a testing squeeze. “You won it, you carry it.”

He huffed, but obligingly transferred the bear to rest against his back like a small child taking a piggy-back ride. Grinning with fondness at the picture he presented, she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “You’re really cute.”

“Thanks.” A noticeable blush colored his cheeks. “What should we do next?”

“Hmm.” She turned on the spot to survey their options. They’d already ridden the tilt-o-whirl once, eaten a funnel cake, and won a ridiculous prize from a game. “Ooh, look, the line for the teacups is really short now. Let’s go ride those. Our new friend can even come along.”

Seizing Alex’s hand, she tugged him along towards the spinning cups. The ride stopped just as they took their places in line, and they were quickly ushered through. “I want the blue one,” she announced, rushing towards it.

Alex climbed in behind her, the bear resting on the seat beside him. When she placed her hands on the disc in the center, he frowned. “Doesn’t that make it spin more?”

“Yeah,” she agreed, “That’s the fun.”

His expression turned skeptical, but he placed his hands beside hers. As the ride began to turn, they worked together to get their cup spinning fast as possible. The wind whipped her hair in her face as they spun, faster and faster, the lights of the carnival turning blurry at the speed, until the only things she could see properly were her bear and Alex’s laughing face. His weight began to slide towards her, leaving them pressed close together, their hands bumping as they worked to keep the disc turning.

“See?” she said as the ride slowed to a stop.

“Yeah, all right,” he laughed.

They climbed back out of the cup and headed for the exit, Alex carrying her bear by the scruff of the neck. “Let’s go again,” she suggested, bouncing on her toes, exhilaration still high.

He gave a long exhale before replying, “Maybe in a few minutes.”

She noted suddenly his face had taken on a greenish hue that seemed to have little to do with the colorful lights strung up above them. “Are you okay?”

“Um, I think so,” he said, bringing up his free hand to rest against his breastbone. “Just, spinning after funnel cake was maybe not the best plan.”

She winced. His stomach was always more sensitive than hers. No wonder he’d been reluctant to make the ride spin faster. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, I’ll be fine. I just…need a minute.”

She bit her lip, considering, then asked, “Can I have one of the tickets?”

He fumbled around in his pocket to retrieve one of the red tickets they’d been given in the front booth. Instructing him to wait there, she hurried off back towards the refreshment tent to exchange the ticket for one of the soda cans arrayed on a bed of ice at the checkout counter. When she found Alex again, he was leaning against the rail nearest the teacup exit, the bear seated on the grass beside him.

“Coke?” she offered, clicking open the can.

He smiled as he took it from her. “You’re an angel.”

Leaning aside him, she watched the teacups spin around while he sipped at the cold, fizzy beverage. After a few minutes, he held the can out to her. “Want a sip?”

“Thanks,” she said, accepting the can. Once she’d swallowed, she asked, “Are you feeling any better?”

“Much. I think I need to take a rain check on riding the teacups again, though.”

“That’s okay.”

“How about the Ferris wheel instead?”

An unpleasant jolt of adrenaline shot through her as she glanced up at the wheel, stretching far past the treetops up into the inky black sky. “Uh….”

“Please?” His lower lip pouted out slightly at her hesitation. “It’s my favorite.”

“It’s just…kinda tall.”

“It’ll be fine. I’ll keep you safe.”

Sighing, she nodded. It was only fair, she supposed, given she’d nearly made him barf on her chosen ride not ten minutes earlier. The wide, sunny smile he gave her nearly made it worth it.

Her bear was left safely on solid ground as they climbed into the rickety, swaying car, with nothing but a loose metal bar to keep them from plummeting out of their seats. The carnival music and laughter that had surrounded them all night grew muted as they rose up into the air. She expelled a shaky exhale, and felt Alex twist his fingers with hers. She squeezed back gratefully, taking comfort in looking at him rather than the rapidly shrinking ground below.  

“I have a question for you,” he said casually.

“What?”

“So, prom is coming up. And we’ve been dating for, you know, ever. But I guess I’m still supposed to ask?”

She grinned. “Yeah?”

“Right. So, I’m asking. Would you, Eliza Schuyler, my beautiful, perfect girlfriend of almost two years, consider possibly going to prom with me?”

Fighting a mischievous smile, she tried for serious as she replied, “Sorry, someone else already asked me.”

“What?” His eyes widened comically with alarm. She broke out in laughter, and he gave a frustrated little huff. “Don’t tease me like that. You know I can’t take it.”

“Well, you shouldn’t keep a girl waiting,” she charged, though she’d never been in any doubt that they’d go together. “And yes, of course I will go to prom with you.”

Their car jolted to a sudden stop, and she glanced away from his face just enough to notice they were at the top of the wheel. She let out a squeak and redoubled her hold on Alex’s hand.

“Everything’s fine. This is completely normal. They like to give you time to enjoy the view.”

“Why?” she asked, genuinely perplexed. “The top is the worst part.”

He laughed, and she looked back at him. The lights from below illuminated Alex’s face, giving him an almost ethereal glow. Her heartbeat quickened at the sight. He was so, so beautiful.

She leaned towards him, puckering her lips slightly in invitation. His lips brushed softly over hers in a sweet, chaste kiss. The car jerked back to life just as he pulled away, taking them back down to earth. He nudged his nose against hers playfully, making her laugh.

As the carnival music grew louder again, she closed her eyes, trying to cement the memory of the past few minutes in her mind: a perfect moment, on a perfect night, with the perfect person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been too long since I've updated this--such a feel-good story to write! (And I needed something to balance me out emotionally while I write next chapter of "An Elusive Peace"!) Hope you enjoyed!!

**Author's Note:**

> Just a very, very fluffy story I wrote when I needed cheering up after a tough day and originally posted over on tumblr. Hope you all enjoy! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! As always, feedback is very much appreciated!


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